XOXO, Gossip Girl.

Finally, after five years of running on TV, CW has put an end to one of my favorite TV series, Gossip Girl. Fun fact, GG is the first US TV series that I watched in perfect order. Followed by my all-time favorite, How I Met Your Mother (which is ending this season, too). 

Since 2007, we have witnessed how a mysterious online writer stalked and, in a way, controlled the lives of the modern royalties of Manhattan's Upper East Side. 

Serena Van der Woodsen and Blaire Waldorf and their friends have been everywhere and they have pretty much all the material things we all could just wish we were born with. But aside from the loud promotion of fashion, wealth, and beauty, there are other exciting things that happened to this bunch of elites and social-climbers.

1. Serena

Went to high school in Constance; was the queen of Constance until she ran off to boarding school without a word to everyone; tried her very best to go to college and dropped out to work; fought with Blaire a hundred times but made up with her always; went into a relationship with Daniel Humphrey, the lonely boy from Brooklyn; broke up with Dan, got back together, then married him in the end; had a lot of other relationships in between, both good and messed up; went away a lot of times and still went back to New York; always the damsel in distress; always turns into the phoenix who always rises from the ashes.

2. Blaire

Instant Queen B of Constance when Serena suddenly disappeared; dated Nate, Chuck, and Dan, but married Chuck in the end; went to NYU then took over Waldorf designs; first marriage was with a royalty from Europe; got pregnant and lost the baby in the accident; almost lost her inheritance; got kidnapped plenty of times; tried so hard to remain on top not knowing that no one could take her throne away from her.

3. Nate

Was in a pretend relationship with Blaire for the longest time until the story about him cheating on Blaire with her best friend leaked from GG; survived complicated family situations; went to school, dropped out of school and started a business; slept with almost all the women with significant roles on GG (Serena, Blaire, Jenny, Vanessa, Juliet, Charlie/Ivy, Lola, Diana, Sage) except Lily and Georgina; betrayed and defended friends; been in jail; the only person who never gave a single tip to Gossip Girl.

4. Chuck

Slept with almost all the women in Manhattan until he became monogamous; deflowered Blaire; fought and reconciled with his best friend; owned a bar and then owned a hotel; lost a father then witnessed him get resurrected; somewhat killed his father for real; got in two vehicular accidents in the course of the series; thought of almost all the best schemes with Blaire; the boy who's been fed with gold when he only asked for parental love; playboy turned one-woman-man.

5. Dan

Started out as the Brooklyn-raised boy who wanted to be accepted in the elite society because he is so deeply in love with Serena; got into wrong relationships; for a while, thought that he was the father of Milo, Gerorgina's son; published two books about Manhattan's elites; gained friends, lost friends, and then gained them back; the lonely boy who ended up marrying his dream girl; the original Gossip Girl.

So all those stories, along with parties, glamorous clothes, sex, and drugs, made GG a pretty messed up show in general. But we all learned to love the dramatic and chaotic life of the Upper East Side too much that we relied on Gossip Girl for the past five years to stay on the loop. It still would've been better if they never revealed who Gossip Girl was. That was supposed to be the one secret she'll never tell.

Thank you for being New York's magazine show and thank you for being Project Runway's drama equivalent. I guess it's time to bid you a fine farewell.

You know we love you.

XOXO, Gossip Girl.

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Photo taken from this page.

What you don't see and what you get

Hundreds of miles settle in between us, but that was never really a problem. A simple text, a short email, or a brief phone call always bridged that gap. We made good use of technology. 

However, what of this moment? What have I to do to fill the emptiness, this cavity? I'm falling deeper and deeper into a black pit and I see no light nor ground ahead. I've been fighting this infinite darkness and the pull of gravity, and I have yet to prevail. 

On the surface and in the shallow, you see my strength and grace. Things seem clear; my waters look calm. But what of the whirlpool of emotions in the depths of me? What of the invisible elements--both great and small--that nibble my very skin or what's left of it? 

My survival? It hasn't been a walk along the shore under the pale moonlight. It hasn't been a stroll along the meadow with the cool breeze gushing through my sundress. It's a sinking ship wrestling helplessly against the wild tides. It's an ongoing barefoot walk along a road of flaming coals.

My heart? It's not similar to that piece of glass being shattered into a million bits and pieces that others commonly describe. It's not even the sting from the stab of a poisonous dagger. No. Far worse. It's a taking of one's own life, a self-sacrifice so rarely done for saving. The great pain of knowing you're very own hands would shoot a bullet through your chest. 

No amount of preparation ever gets a person ready for this. No extensive training could assure one's continued normal existence after a heart broken my oneself.

There is no known cure, but we must endure. 

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Photo taken from this page.

To the Rorouni Kenshin Live Action producers

To the producers of Rurouni Kenshin Live Action, thank you! 

Thank you for not letting this epic anime series get in the hands of Hollywood. Hollywood is great and all, but this is not something they could've pulled off. I mean, look at what they did to Dragon Ball and Street Fighter! I'm not taking anything away from the magnificent job they've done to a lot of movies, like their Marvel movies and Avatar. Those were (still are) great. And Hollywood must stick to those.

Thank you also for not dubbing the movie into different languages. The film is so legit in Jap, like the anime stepped outside my TV set, magically turned into humans, and jumped into the big screen. Cool. 

Who enjoys war, violence, blood, and killing? No one. But I did enjoy this movie. Got nothing else to say about the movie except that it's AWESOME. 

Childhood complete!

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The photo is taken from this site. 

What adults can learn from Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck It Ralph may be a kiddie movie but it delivers a lot of underlying messages that we grown-ups can learn from. Here are some of the lessons I picked up from the film:

1. Just because you're the "good guy" doesn't mean you're the hero. This isn't just true in the movies we've seen. Take Lord of the Rings for example. Frodo may be the main character but he definitely wasn't the hero. If it weren't for his friends, the ring would've taken over him entirely. In the same manner, Fix-it Felix wasn't the hero. He didn't save the day. He didn't save the gaming kingdom!

2. Be sure you're ready to face anything if you move to a different world. And I don't mean move from Earth to Mars because that is impossible. I mean changing from one lifestyle, or one location, or one job to another. It won't be the same as the last one you were in. It may give off a similar feel but it is will not be the same. Unless you're ready to face the consequences and challenges of moving, don't.

3. Your imperfections make you beautiful. Penelope was a glitch in the system. She blurs, disappears and reappears like a flickering light. But it made her unique. It made her special. And best of all, it made her the damn best racer in the game!

4. You sometimes have to break things to make way for better opportunities. While in the prison, Fix-it Felix was helpless. Every time he tried to hammer his way out, he ended up fixing the deformities of the cell. It took Ralph's wrecking power to save him. Also, it was Ralph's ability to wreck that gave Penelope her training tracks.

5. Fixing and breaking co-exist. If nothing's broken, there's nothing to fix, and vise versa. There is a way to break anything. But there is also always a way to fix them.

6. Getting the gold isn't always the goal. Sometimes, when you try too hard to win, you wouldn't notice how much damage you've done or how many people you've let down. Wanting to win is a good thing because you're challenging yourself in the process of achieving what you want. But learn where to stop.

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Photo taken from this page.